How To Make Progress

If there is one thing that I have learned in my time devising performance, it’s that a human being your brain can’t be an unrelenting creative force 24/7. Sometimes you just need to stop.

We’ve all been there: you need to get something finished but you find yourself stumped. Completely and utterly stumped. You can’t think of any words to write, or any dialogue to say or any movement to… move? Here is some advice: My lecturer at university once told me that when you hit a wall in your progress, it means that there is something on the other side worth having, so you need to find a way to get around it. The way that I do that personally is by taking a break. I play a game, or listen to music or watch some anime. I walk away from the wall.

I know that sounds counter productive, but hear me out: In life sometimes we become so personally involved in a problem that we only seem to find bittersweet solutions. Sometimes we just need to take ourselves out of the equation in order to reach a satisfying conclusion.

My point is this:

How can you get past that wall if you’re stuck with your nose pressed up against it? Turn around and walk away. Do something else with your time, because when you finally decide to return, this time you’ll have a run up.

Keep it clean. Keep it comic.

Jordan